"My lady, I brought you some tea and biscuits," Julia announced, forcing a polite smile onto her face.
The smile felt unnatural and wrong, like a mask stitched too tightly onto her skin. Behind it, her thoughts churned violently, dark and impatient. Every instinct in her body screamed at her to abandon the act, to drop the tray, reach for the knife, and end this farce right here and now.
Right in front of her, the redheaded nuisance sat so peacefully, as if she had not single-handedly disrupted Julia's entire future. She was absolutely infuriating.
"Thank you," Ella replied sweetly, her voice soft and absent of suspicion. "You can just set it down on the table over there."
Julia nodded, her movements stiff but controlled, and made her way toward the small table. Each step felt deliberate and calculated. The tray trembled ever so slightly in her hands, though she quickly steadied it before it could betray her nerves.
